Monday, November 9, 2009

An Eclectic Evening in the Ballroom! Adam Ant Does the Paso Doble

L-I-V-E!!! From Hollywood! This is Dancing With the Stars!!!

Tonight our couples will have to dance two dances - a Ballroom and a Latin dance, and the Latin dance will be from a specific decade - 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and the future. (This oughta be interesting!)

The judges give us an idea of what they’re looking for in the Ballroom round as the finals loom ever closer. Donny is the Born Entertainer, and needs to watch his posture. Joanna is the Glamour Girl, and her Quickstep will be important. Kelly is the Wild Child and tends to do better in ballroom but Len says “Mediocrity isn’t enough. Grow or go.” Mya is the Dancing Diva, and Len wants her sharp and precise. Aaron is “the Boy who became a Man.” He will dance a Foxtrot and Carrie Ann doesn’t want him to become overexuberant - Bruno says to “stay in the zone, don’t become a wild child.”

Mya & Dmitry will dance their Quickstep first. They decide they want to please the audience and keep the “wow” factor. Mya is pushing herself hard so Dmitry decides to take her to a ranch and they ride horses “to get away from the studio in nature and fresh air.” (Except, the last time I rode a horse, my thighs were KILLING me. Don’t think that’s very conducive to dancing!) I love her pink/peach/rose gown, and the dance is super! They’re very in sync and their hold looks good. Will the judges like this one? Len begins saying “we got off to a sticky start in week one, and it went from bad to worse, and tonight, there is a disappointment for me...” (The audience groans loudly) “...I couldn’t find anything to criticize.” Bruno yells that “this Quickstep is like vintage champagne, light, full of flavor! After you taste it, nothing else will do.” Carrie Ann tells Mya that she made something so difficult flow out with ease and grace. (Three 10's coming?) Their scores: 9-10-10=29. After the 10 from Len, Dmitry brings out a little plastic ring for Mya with a “10" paddle on it.

Aaron & Karina will dance next. He wants to show the world what a “real team can do together.” Karina isn’t feeling well, she’s running a fever and says she’s not letting him dance with anyone else - “over my dead body.” They practice with masks - will they hold their breath during the live performance or take their chances with the germs? Not sure about his posture - his “bum” is sticking out during the spins. Sorry, don’t think this is what Aaron needs to please the judges. He looks clunky. Bruno begins by saying he can see how much work went into the dance, but he felt it was “a little bit tense.” Carrie Ann says that Karina’s foot came off the floor and she saw the work but the fluidity wasn’t there. Len says he has so many emotions and is proud of Aaron that he’s worked so hard and he can see the improvement. (He took his happy pill again tonight - he can’t say anything nice about the dancing, so he compliments Aaron’s work ethic). Their scores: 7-8-8=23.

Joanna & Derek
are dancing the Quickstep. She says it’s not a tongue twister but a foot twister. They watch Mya’s dances to gauge the competition. Not sure Len is going to like the beginning - they’re “messing about.” Their hold isn’t as close as Mya & Dmitry’s. I like the fun of the dance, though. Uh oh, Joanna missed a step. She still gets a standing ovation from the audience. Carrie Ann says the routines are really long and there is a lot of content and she noticed that Joanna must have forgotten a little bit, but her frame was good. Len says there was “a lot of running about, lack of body contact - this is not the standard for the quarter finals.” Tom quips “I guess it was too much to hope that the good mood would last.” Bruno said it looked like they were running away from the scene of a crime. He says her upper body looked great but the bottom looked in another direction. Their scores are better than I thought they’d be: 8-7-8=23.

Kelly & Louis will dance a Foxtrot next. Louis is complaining that Kelly gets distracted easily and I can understand, when there are two teeny little ragmop dogs trotting around the studio. Other dancers are peeking in the studio, and Louis finally puts a sign on the door that says “Do not disturb or Louis will kill you!” He gets a suitcase and packs all her stuff up - her cell phone, extra shoes, computer, and locks it up. He makes her kick the dogs out too. I like this mint green color on her too - and she’s lost some weight! (Is she the next one to do Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem commercials?) The dance starts a little tentative but she really loosens up and the dance is pretty good. Len gets to start, and says he’s forgotten how much grace and elegance she brings to the dance floor. Bruno says “when you keep your focus, it works.” Carrie Ann tells Kelly she has a secret weapon, because when she has a breakthrough the audience goes wild, but she has to work on her extension. Backstage, talking about the locked box, Louis says “if she makes me wear the tassle pants, this is what she gets.” Their scores: 8-8-9=25.

Donny & Kym finish off the Ballroom round with a Viennese Waltz. He admits that the Quickstep burned him out, that he realized he wasn’t having any fun any more and he had to start all over again. There are a lot of spins but he says the hardest part is remembering the steps. His posture looks pretty good - it’s flowing and light and Donny’s got the attitude right. He gets a standing ovation for this one. Bruno begins ... “like watching a Lifetime movie, emotional, a bit of drama, oh, take me...” Len is being mauled. Carrie Ann found it mesmerizing. She says Donny didn’t over-perform it. Len liked the posture and the rotation, and was proud of Donny to attempt the Fleckle step, but says it was a little “artsy fartsy” for him. Donny says it’s great to go from “airy fairy to artsy fartsy.” Backstage Kym says Donny has everything it takes to get to the semi finals. Their scores: 9-8-9=26.

After the commercial, Tony, Mark, and some unnamed guy dance with three women I don’t recognize. Where are Cheryl, Edyta, Lacey or Anna T? They’re dancing a Latin medly and it’s pretty good, but I miss my girl pros.

The judges tell us what they want to see during the Latin round. Len says he wants to see an action hero when Donny dances the Paso Doble like Rambo - he wants to see “Donbo.” (Ooh that’s bad, Len!) Mya has to groove to her 70's Samba. Carrie Ann doesn’t want her to play it safe. Joanna will dance a futuristic Paso Doble, and Bruno says she can “excel at sexy, but will she be aggressive enough to deliver the Paso Doble?” For Kelly’s Jive, the judges want kicks and flicks. Bruno says “let go, Kelly! Enjoy it!” According to Len, Aaron needs “bounce, bum and bongos” for his Samba. Bruno hopes his speed and agility will make up for his technique.

Mya & Dmitry
will dance their 70's Samba. Dmitry is wearing a cheesy mustache that looks hilarious. Mya wants to channel Donna Summer or Diana Ross but “all I’m channeling is Raggedy Ann.” Dmitry is having problems with the choreography and is having a dancer’s block, and Mya is getting worried. They begin the dance and it looks good but I can’t get over that cheesy mustache! I like her hot pink jumpsuit with the bell-bottom fringes. The audience loves it, will the judges? Carrie Ann now believes she wants to win the competition. Len says “you’re absolutely on fire - your hips were hypnotic.” He says she gave him two dances with no gimmicks. Bruno calls her unbelievable. He says she does a mean Samba with Diana Ross in the middle (and then sings a couple lines of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”) Tom says that Bruno managed to imitate Diana Ross and a strangled cat at the same time. Their scores are the best of the season - for any couple: 10-10-10=30. That gives them a total of 59.

Aaron & Karina get to perform a 90's Samba. Tom quips that they will dance a Samba like in 1990 - when Aaron was 3 years old. Aaron is showing Karina some moves from the 90's and one includes the rodeo move, which makes Karina crack up. “I can’t do that.” This dance looks really great, Aaron is having great fun and moving pretty good. Len said that it must have been hard after seeing a perfect 30 Samba, then coming out and having to perform one. “But you worked it, you sold it, and you really blew my socks off.” Bruno says “all that energy has actually done good.” Carrie Ann says that while she gave Aaron a hard time at the beginning, it’s nice to see him “hitting it” now. Their scores: 9-9-9=27. They have 50 for the night. Aaron tells Samantha that he’s been feeling punky and he almost threw up. (How special! That may have been fun for live TV, and may have gotten him a bigger sympathy vote.)

Joanna & Derek will dance a futuristic Paso Doble. Their costumes are a bit strange. They’ll be doing a lot of side by side steps and they have to be synchronized, and Joanna is having a tough time and wishing there were more hours in a day. They being with a lot of robotic moves, and after doing a little Paso Doble, go into more robot moves. Uh, oh, Len isn’t going to like this one! It’s not the best music to do a Paso to, but it looks pretty neat. I don’t think there’s enough content. Bruno gets to start, and says it’s “a masterful re-invention of a classic - Derek, you’re a genius.” Carrie Ann says it was outstanding execution of the theme of the future, and Joanna didn’t miss a step. Len said that “Bruno has taken my word that I’ve written down - genius.” He liked the theme of the dance and the content too (so much for my opinion). Their scores: 9-10-10=29. They have a total of 52 for the evening. Tom says that “now we know in the future we’re going to dance really good, but we’re going to look ridiculous.”

Kelly & Louis are up next and dancing a 60's Jive. She’s wearing a lime green wig! The first video Kelly did was 60's themed so she could add some moves to the choreography. The dance looks a little muted to begin, they dance to “Rag Doll” and they use a doll for a prop. They put all the standard 60's moves in, including the Batman. She ends the dance sitting on Bruno’s lap with her dolly. Len says Kelly has been a revelation to him, and she’s come in every week stronger and stronger. Bruno tells her “come back to Daddy.” She sits on his lap and he tells her he loved her dance. Tom quips that he makes Ozzie look like Hugh Beaumont (the dad on Leave It to Beaver). Carrie Ann said she was letting go, but her turns were “sticky” and the doll gave her the “heebie jeebies.” Their scores: 8-9-9=26. They have a 51 total score. Kelly laughs that this show is making her a lady.

Donny & Kym dance an 80's Paso Doble. Tom said he will “Adam Ant” the Paso Doble. Donny says he had a Mullett in the 80's and he wants one for this dance. It’s not a huge Mullet, looks more to me like Michael Jackson wore his hair for Thriller. It looks pretty good - interesting with the theme. Donny doesn’t really look that tough or powerful though. Tom asks if this can be the encore dance tomorrow night because “I just want to put him through that again.” Len says it was the most crazy, bizarre, scary Paso Doble he’s ever seen - but he liked it! Bruno said it was “more campy than a drag queen’s convention.” “It was like watching Donny, doing Marie, doing Donny, doing Marie.” Carrie Ann thought they did a great job of bringing the era back, but called it a little odd. She said the costume may have “cut some of your lines.” Their scores: 8-8-8=24, which is a 50 for the night.

Here is the leader board after the judge’s scores:

59 - Mya & Dmitry
52 - Joanna & Derek
51 - Kelly & Louis
50 - Aaron & Karina
50 - Donny & Kym

So who can win this thing? Did you vote for your favorite? We’ll see who goes home tomorrow night! LIVE!!!

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